Pico Pan de Azúcar

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The Pico Pan de Azúcar, at 4680 meters above sea level, is the ninth highest mountain of Venezuela, and the third highest of the Sierra de la Culata range in the Mérida State. Its name, which translates as "Bread of Sugar", is due to the sandy slopes of the mountain, which resembles "Pan dulce", a kind of bread sprinkled with sugar eaten in the country. The summit offers a scenic view, including Lake Maracaibo, Sierra Nevada de Mérida and the surrounding mountains of the Sierra de la Culata.

Venezuela Republic in northern South America

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and a large number of small islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city of Caracas. It has a territorial extension of 916,445 km2. The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana. With this last country, the Venezuelan government maintains a claim for Guayana Esequiba over an area of 159,542 km2. For its maritime areas, it exercises sovereignty over 71,295 km2 of territorial waters, 22,224 km2 in its contiguous zone, 471,507 km2 of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean under the concept of exclusive economic zone, and 99,889 km2 of continental shelf. This marine area borders those of 13 states. The country has extremely high biodiversity and is ranked seventh in the world's list of nations with the most number of species. There are habitats ranging from the Andes Mountains in the west to the Amazon basin rain-forest in the south via extensive llanos plains, the Caribbean coast and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.

Sierra de la Culata mountain

The Sierra de La Culata is a mountain range in the largest massif in Venezuela, the Cordillera de Mérida, which in turn is part of the northern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes. The Sierra la Culata includes some of the highest peaks in Venezuela, such as Pico Piedras Blancas, Pico Pan de Azúcar, and Collado del Cóndor.

Lake Maracaibo large lake in Venezuela with an outflow to the Caribbean Sea

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish tidal bay in Venezuela and an "inlet of the Caribbean Sea." It is sometimes considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait which is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) wide at the northern end. It is fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. At 13,210 square kilometres (5,100 sq mi) it was once the largest lake in South America; the geological record shows that it was a true lake in the past, and as such is one of the oldest lakes on Earth at 20–36 million years old.

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Pico Pan de Azúcar
Pan de azucar.jpg
Pico Pan de Azúcar as seen from the East at Alto de Mucujún
Highest point
Elevation 4,680 m (15,350 ft)
Coordinates 8°48′N70°59′W / 8.800°N 70.983°W / 8.800; -70.983
Geography
Location Mérida state, Venezuela
Parent range Sierra de la Culata, Andes
Climbing
First ascent Wilhem Sievers, June 5th, 1885
Easiest route Walk, easy climb PD

Location

Pico Pan de Azúcar is located 27.7 kilometers to the Northeast of Mérida, Mérida, the capital city of the state. The mountain, along with other mountains surrounds a high altitude valley around 4300 meters above sea level, which is the birth of the Mucujún river

Mérida, Mérida Place in Mérida, Venezuela

Mérida, officially known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes. It was founded in 1558 by Captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez, forming part of Nueva Granada, but later became part of the Captaincy General of Venezuela and played an active role in the War of Independence.

History

The first ascent, made by the German explorer Wilhem Sievers, dates from 1885. In 1910, Alfredo Jahn, an engineer working as leader of an Expedition commissioned for surveying the western of Venezuela, climbed the mountain, however, Jahn named the mountain "Tucaní" and on the other hand named "Pan de Azúcar" another neighbor mountain now known as Pan de Sal.

Alfredo Jahn Venezuelan engineer

Dr. Alfredo Jahn Hartman was a Venezuelan civil engineer, botanist and geographer. Jahn was a member of the Academy of History, the Academy of Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Naturalist of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences and achieved the Order of the Liberator. He was also an explorer and mountain climber. There is a large cave named after Jahn, "Cueva Alfredo Jahn". In 1911 he became the first person to ascend Pico Humboldt in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida in Venezuela.

Climbing

Pan de Azúcar is one of the most climbed mountains in the Mérida state, due to its accessibility and fast approximation. It is best climbed during the dry season, from October to March. The principal access is through the "La Culata" settlement. The normal route is through the South ridge.

The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The tropical rain belt lies in the southern hemisphere roughly from October to March; during that time the northern tropics have a dry season with sparser precipitation, and days are typically sunny throughout. From April to September, the rain belt lies in the northern hemisphere, and the southern tropics have their dry season. Under the Köppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a dry season month is defined as a month when average precipitation is below 60 millimetres (2.4 in).

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Pan de Azúcar may refer to

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